Love Remains
by kyil
Summary: After the battle with Galaxia, life returned to normal. But when Mamoru began being plague by nightmares and a surprising return of old enemies, Usagi and Mamoru will have their love tested once again as they try to stop the destruction of their world. They will learn not only is the future changeable, but so is the past and not everything always turn out all right.
1. Prologue: A Twisted Divergence

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon.**

**Prologue: A Twisted Divergence**

"_Go on Endymion, kill the little moon brat and bring me her head!"_

_At Beryl's command, Endymion raised his sword with both hands, intending to take the life of the kneeling girl. But before he could swing down his blade, he found himself unable to look away from the girl's fearful gaze. Something inside of him was screaming at him that he knew this girl; that he would regret it if he followed through with his dark queen's command._

"_Please Endymion, you have to remember. It's me, Serenity. We were forced apart by Beryl in our last life, but we've been given a second chance. Now you're Mamoru Chiba and I'm Usagi Tsukino. We just found each other again. Please don't let her tear us apart in this life too!"_

_Not completely understanding the girl's tearful plea, he nonetheless found himself trying to make sense of her words. So lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice the object the girl pulled out until the soft sound of a familiar tune reached his ears. The music felt calming, soothing, nostalgic, as if it was trying to help him remember something important. Without knowing why, he found himself slowly lowering his sword, all intent of slaying the girl before him gone as he stared mesmerizingly at the star shaped locket in her hands._

"_Se-re-ni-ty," he uttered strainingly as if an invisible force wanted to prevent him from saying the name._

_Even though he had said the name barely above a whisper, the two present had heard it loud and clear. While one pair of eyes lit up with hope and joy, the second pair of eyes became filled with hatred and rage._

"_Endymion, have you-"_

"_NO! I gave you an order Endymion! KILL HER NOW," an enraged Beryl screeched, the dark aura around her intensifying._

_The instant after the command was given, Endymion reflexively plunged his sword straight through the kneeling girl's chest and pulled it out in one swift motion. One moment he had been gazing intently at the star locket, the next, he found himself staring at the shocked gaze of the eerily familiar girl. He was vaguely aware of the music that continued to play from the dropped star locket, now lying on the ground between them. Instinctively, he dropped his sword and caught the bleeding girl in his arms. Even as blood began to trickle down her lips, the girl's shocked gaze quickly turned into a soft, understanding one. Unable to tear his eyes away, he watched on as she shakingly raised a hand to place against his cheek which felt cold and wet._

_'Likely from her blood.'_

_But that thought quickly vanished when he realized the girl was trying to speak to him._

"_It's *cough* alright Endymion. I knnnnow it's nnnot your fffault."_

_He could not phantom why the girl was trying to comfort him until he noticed his vision had began to mist. Only then did it dawned on him that the wetness he felt on his cheek was not the girl's blood, but his own tears._

"_Why?"_

_That one word he uttered held so many questions. Why was he crying? Why does the star locket's melody sound so familiar? Why was the girl he just impaled looking at him with such a loving, yet guilt-filled gaze? Why did he drop his weapon to cradle said girl in his arms? But most of all, why does it feel like a gaping hole had form in his heart the moment he had ran the girl through with his sword?_

_As he watched the life quickly fade from the girl's eyes, he was suddenly struck with an intense feeling of fear._

_'Don't go.'_

_As if having heard his silent pleas, the girl in his arms gave him a small smile that was filled with love and regret._

"_I-I-'m sssorry I cccoul-dn't sssave you."_

_After having murmured those words, her eyelids fell completely closed as her body went limp in his arms. Staring at her lifeless body, Endymion felt as if all the air had been knocked out of him. At that moment, a sharp pain crushed his head along with a rush of images that began to bombarded his mind. All had one thing in common, she was in each and every one. While he couldn't understand all these new found memories, one thing was crystal clear. He loved the girl in his arms. He loved Serenity and she was dead, killed by his own hands. At the realization, Endymion let out a bloodcurdling scream as he tightly hugged Serenity's lifeless body against himself._

"AHHHHHHH!"

Shooting up from his bed, Mamoru had cold sweat dripping down his forehead as he breathed heavily while trying to take in his surrounding. Panic was evident in his eyes as he tried to separate dream from reality. The sound of his ticking nightstand clock and the sound of traffic outside convinced him he was in his apartment and not some hidden underground hideout of the the Dark Kingdom.

_'Usako!'_

At the thought of his princess, Mamoru forced his emotions back as he urgently searched for the invisible link that connected him to his girlfriend. Relief flooded him when he not only felt her presence, but could also sense that she was in no danger. Turning his head to the side, he saw it was almost four in the morning. As much as he wanted to call Usagi and hear her voice to put his mind at ease, he knew that would be unwise, suicidal even if it was her father that answers the phone. Ever since Usagi's father found out about the ring he had given to his precious daughter, the man had been trying to find any possible excuse to proof Mamoru was unsuitable to be with his daughter.

'_Thank goodness Usako's mother can keep him in check,'_ Mamoru thought with a slight smile.

But the smile quickly vanished as his thoughts strayed back to his nightmare. While it wasn't the first time he had such nightmares about that terrible time in their lives, this had been the first time his nightmares strayed from his actual memories of the event. He shuddered to think of how that time could have easily ended the way his nightmare had.

'_One wrong move and I could have...,'_ unable to finish that train of thought, Mamoru shook his head as if to shake out the very idea from his mind.

"It was just a nightmare. Just a nightmare."

After repeating those words several more times to himself, Mamoru laid back down, hoping the rest of the night will have no repeats of that awful dream, his biggest comforting thought being that he would be meeting up with his princess tomorrow for lunch.

* * *

Darkness shrouded the seemingly endless throne room. The floating spheres of red flame cast an eerie glow throughout the room. A lone man sat upon the black crystal-like throne, his eyes closed and head laid back as if in deep slumber. By his side sitting at his arm rest was a single glass of red wine with no sign of having been touched. His arms rested on his lap, fist clutched tight. The silence was broken when a portal suddenly opened a short distance away from the slumbering figure. The instant the first footstep tapped against the floor, the man's eyes snapped open. Sitting up poised and alert, he watched silently as the figure of the one who disturbed him slowly approached before kneeling on one knee several feet away from the throne.

"My lord, the preparations are almost completed," the scaly creature said in a raspy voice, "The masters are making the final adjustments as we speak. They are awaiting your orders to proceed with the plan."

"Begin the process immediately. I want the portal opened as soon as possible. Any more delays will be met with _severe_ consequences," the seated man instructed sternly, his piercing gaze causing the creature to lower his head further in a deep bow.

"As you command my lord," it replied, fear of retribution evident in its voice.

The man watched stonily as the creature quickly vanished through a new portal to deliver his message. Alone once more, the man stood up and stared at the object he had been clutching in his palm even during sleep.

"Soon my love we will be together again. And this time, I won't let anyone tear us apart again."


	2. Chapter 1: Promises

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon.**

**Chapter 1: Promises**

The sun shone brightly in the beautiful clear blue sky. Gentle breezes of the wind kept the air from becoming unbearably hot. It was a picture perfect Sunday afternoon and many have taken advantage of the wonderful weather by spending quality time in the park whether with friends, family or lover. Among the crowd was an odango-haired girl who happily held the hand of her black haired boyfriend.

"You know what today is perfect for," Usagi asked brightly with a large smile directed at her prince.

"What," Mamoru asked with a grin, clearly amused by the excitement in his girlfriend's eyes.

"Ice cream," she immediately replied with such a matter-of-fact tone that Mamoru could not help but chuckle at his princess.

"But we just finished lunch and if I recall correctly, you had a big slice of chocolate cream pie for desert," Mamoru said with a teasing smile.

His eyes instantly softened when he saw his Usako scrunched up her nose with a small pout he had always found cute and endearing. When she released his hand to cross her arms against her chest, Mamoru couldn't help but feel a small tinge of lost.

"That was over half an hour ago. Besides, I shared that slice of pie with you Mamo-chan."

Deciding not to mention he had only taken a small bite of said pie, Mamoru surprised his girlfriend by engulfing her in a gentle embrace from behind.

"You're right Usako. So why don't, we go get ourselves some ice-cream. I believe we past a vendor not too long ago."

The sound of his voice so close to her ear combined with his arms around her waist caused Usagi's face to light up with a pink blush. Not trusting her voice, she meekly nodded her head in agreement. At her silent approval, Mamoru released his hold on her waist and retook the hand he had been holding moments ago. Giving Usagi a boyish grin that brought butterflies to her stomach, Mamoru pulled his love-dazed girlfriend towards the direction he remembered having seen an ice-cream vendor.

Moments later, they sat side by side on a bench, an ice-cream cone in each of their hands. As she ate her strawberry cone, Usagi couldn't help but wonder about Mamoru's strange behavior. Her mind kept playing back the event of this morning when her boyfriend came to pick her up for their lunch date.

0000

"_How do I look Luna? Do you think it's too childish? Oh maybe I should have gone with the light blue sundress instead."_

"_*Sigh* For the last time, you look fine Usagi-chan," Luna replied as she watched her charge fuss over her appearance in front of the mirror, "I'm sure Mamoru-san will tell you the same thing when you see him later."_

"_Thanks Luna. It's just been so long since we've gone on an actual date. Even though Mamo-chan decided not to go to America for school after the whole ordeal with Galaxia and Chaos, he's been busy dealing with explaining his absence and getting enrolled into a university here," Usagi said, a hint of sadness in her voice._

"_That can't be helped. After all, he did just suddenly disappeared, but at least the plane that Galaxia attacked reappeared with all the passengers safe and sound. It's a good thing they classified it as the plane having technical glitches that caused an emergency landing. That's one less thing Mamoru-san had to explain to the universities."_

"_Yeah..."_

"_Is something else bothering you Usagi-chan?"_

"_..."_

_When Luna saw Usagi's reluctance to answer, she jumped from her position on the bed onto the table drawer her charge was currently staring at._

"_You promised not to keep your worries to yourself anymore. Please tell me what's wrong Usagi-chan." Luna pleaded as she softly placed a paw on her charge's hand._

"_It's just...I know I'm the reason Mamo-chan gave up his chance to study in America. I'm sure the girls told him how I broke down on the rooftop in front of Seiya that day. If only I was stronger, then Mamo-chan wouldn't have to give up his dream of studying to be a doctor in America," Usagi replied, tears threatening to fall._

"_You can't blame yourself Usagi-chan," Luna comforted, a soft smile on her face at the reminder of her princess's tendency to put others before herself, "Mamoru-san made the choice himself. You may be one of the reason he stayed, but it was a decision he willingly made on his own."_

"_But-," Usagi begin in protest._

"_No buts," Luna said sternly before continuing in a gentler tone, "Besides, we all know Mamoru's true dream is to always stay by your side to keep you safe and happy. He love you Usagi-chan and it would pain him if he found out you're sad because he wanted to stay by your side."_

"_Thanks Luna," Usagi said gratefully as she pulled the cat into a hug with both arms, "You always know what to say."_

"_Perhaps you should listen to what I say more," Luna replied jokingly, "I have yet to see you follow my other advises about waking up earlier on school days so that you don't have to rush to school in panic almost every morning."_

_Before Usagi could retort that she have been improving with her tardy record, they heard the doorbell ring. Curious as to who it could be this early in the morning, Usagi looked out the window and was surprised to see Mamoru pacing nervously in front of their porch._

"_Mamo-chan's here," Usagi exclaimed excitedly as she took a quick check of her appearance once more before dashing out the room, completely missing Luna's question of why Mamoru was over an hour early._

_As she made her way down the stairs, Usagi heard her mother cheerfully welcoming her boyfriend while her father gave a much less enthusiastic greeting. Not wanting her father to start interrogating Mamoru as per usual routine, she quickened her pace. Turning the corner to the front door, her smile widened as soon as she laid eyes on her prince. Immediately forgetting about the presence of her parents, Usagi charged past the two unsuspecting pair with an excited exclamation of "Mamo-chan!"_

"_I'm happy to see you too Usako," Mamoru said with a slight chuckle._

_And to Usagi's surprise, instead of taking a small step back like he usually would, Mamoru returned her hug with equal, if not greater, vigor. Like every other time she was in her prince's embrace, Usagi felt warm and protected, but this time, she felt another emotion in her prince, unease. While his hold around her waist was gentle and loving, she could also feel he held her more tightly than usual. It almost felt like a cross between how Tuxedo-Kamen would hold Sailor Moon in battle and how Mamoru would hold Usagi in his rare moments of public affection. Raising her head to meet Mamoru's eyes, Usagi saw a flicker of relief in his eyes that quickly vanished as if he was afraid she would notice. But before she could ask him about it, they heard her father let out a loud cough behind them, reminding them of their presence. Usagi felt her face heat up in embarrassment as she turned to face her parents. While her mother had a kind, knowing smile, the expression on her father's face was anything but amused. She swore she could almost see the steam coming out of her father's head._

"_Well now, I do believe you two should be on your way," Ikuko announced before her husband could put in a word, "Didn't you mention having already made reservations Mamoru-san?"_

"_A-ah, yes. We need to go or we'll miss our reservation time," Mamoru lied nervously, inwardly thanking Usagi's mother for giving him a way out._

_Turning to face the man currently glaring at him, Mamoru made a quick bow as he said, "It was good seeing you again sir."_

_Then after giving Usagi's mother a grateful smile, Mamoru quickly took hold of Usagi's hand and turned to leave as if a horde of youma were after them._

_0000_

At the memory, Usagi could not hold back her giggles as she recalled how she had to hold her boyfriend back to remind him she had yet to put on her shoes.

"What's so funny," Mamoru asked as he wiped his hands on a napkin, having just finished his cone.

"Oh just recalling what happened this morning. I would've thought you be used to papa by now Mamo-chan."

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one he wants to murder with his bare hands," Mamoru replied, shivering at the memories of all the unspoken threats Usagi's father had made over the years with his death-glares alone.

"I'm sure papa likes you. He just doesn't want to admit it. After all, he doesn't try to keep me from going on dates with you anymore," Usagi said with a smile.

Mamoru gave a small nod of agreement. He was fully aware of how much more accepting Usagi's father have become of their relationship. While Kenji still gave him pointed glares every time they meet, it has become more of a warning as to not hurt his daughter compared to the "why won't you stay away from my daughter" death-glares.

'_But I still think it's a far stretch to say Tsukino-san likes me,'_ Mamoru mused to himself with silent chuckle.

"Um Mamo-chan."

The sound of Usagi's voice calling his name pulled him out of his thoughts. Turning to face her, he felt a sudden wave of unease when he saw his princess's nervous and worried gaze.

"What is it Usako," Mamoru asked, wondering what brought on her sudden change of mood.

"Well uh I just wanted to ask if there was something bothering you this morning," Usagi replied timidly, unable to forget the peculiar look in her prince's eyes that morning.

Although he had his own suspicion on what brought on this question, Mamoru purposely tried to avoid answering by relying, "Why do you ask Usako?"

He didn't want to worry Usagi, but more than that, he didn't want to bring back the awful memories of that day when Usagi had almost gotten killed by his own hands under Beryl's command.

'_There's no way I can tell Usako I had a dream where I killed her and watched the life fade from her eyes.'_

An image of himself holding the dying Sailor Moon in his arms flashed through his mind. He could feel the bile raise in the back of his throat as he desperately tried to push the image out of his head. Unconsciously, Mamoru tightened his grip on Usagi's hand, needing her presence and warmth to remind him it had only been a nightmare.

Usagi remained silent as she watched Mamoru sit rigidly still beside her. She made no complaint even when his grip on her hand started to become painful. All she could focus on was the enormous sense of pain and guilt emitting from her prince. At that moment, it wasn't as important to find out what was tormenting Mamoru's mind as it was for her to take away his pain. Gently placing her other hand on Mamoru's cheek, Usagi made it so that his eyes stared right into her own. The mixture of self-loathing, fear and sadness she saw in his eyes stabbed at her heart.

"It's okay Mamo-chan. I'm right here," she whispered soothingly, "Whatever it is, I won't let you go through it alone."

"U-Usako."

Pulling her into his arms, Mamoru could no longer hold back the tears. All the fear and guilt he had been trying to lock away burst at that instant. He didn't care that people passing by were giving them strange looks. Didn't care he was showing weakness or that he might be being silly for letting one nightmare shake him up so badly. All he cared about at that moment was the warmth of his princess's embrace and her sweet voice whispering words of comfort and reassurance into his ear.

* * *

Silence filled the room, as the two sat beside each other on the couch in Mamoru's apartment. After Mamoru's sudden display of emotion in the park, Usagi had insisted they talk things out in a less public location. It was only after much pleading on Usagi's part did Mamoru finally give in and explained the cause of his distress.

"Was this the first time you had this sort of nightmare," Usagi asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes and no," Mamoru answered honestly, not wanting to lie to his love, "Every now and then I would have dreams about the time I was under Beryl's control, but this was the first time the dream changed from a bad memory to an actual nightmare."

"But that's all it is Mamo-chan, a nightmare."

"You don't understand Usako. I never just dream. Ever since the accident where I lost my memories, my dreams always had meanings. For years, since that car crash, I had only dreamt of a princess telling me to help her find the Ginzuishou so that I can recover my lost memories. And it did, the princess turned out to be you and finding the Ginzuishou brought us back together as well as brought back our memories of the Silver Millennium. After that, I didn't have anymore dreams except of bit and pieces of memories of different times. Then of course came that nightmare sent by my future self...My point is my dreams always have meanings behind them and I'm afraid—-"

"You're afraid this nightmare is telling you you'll hurt me," Usagi finished calmly, understanding in her eyes.

"Yes," Mamoru admitted softly as if ashamed of his own fears, "I'm afraid Usako. Every time we faced an evil, crazy monster bent on taking over or destroying the world, I'm always powerless to help when it counts."

"That's not—-"

"It is true," Mamoru declared before Usagi could voice her protest, "Beryl, the Black Moon, Pharaoh 90, Nehelenia, Galaxia...I'm never strong enough. I couldn't even stay alive and I let you suffer alone. It would be better if you haven't fallen in love with such a useless man."

"YOU'RE WRONG MAMO-CHAN," Usagi exclaimed, shocking Mamoru out of his self-loathing rant with her sudden outburst.

Finally getting Mamoru to look her in the yes again, Usagi gently held his hand in both her own before continuing in a softer voice, "You're wrong Mamo-chan. All that worry about being powerless to help me, you couldn't be more wrong. Yes, it's true that I was sad and lonely when I found out Galaxia had taken your star seed and if I was being truthful, I had started feeling lonely the moment I saw you off at the airport."

"Usako."

"But you can't blame yourself for my suffering. I may have been feeling lonely, but it was my wish to see you again that kept me going. Even when I found out you d-died, I kept on fighting because I believed I would be able to see you again. You're not powerless to help me Mamo-chan because you ARE my strength.

Taking his hand, Usagi placed it against her chest.

"Do you feel that Mamo-chan," Usagi asked with a soft smile, "My heart is beating, it's beating for you. So please don't say things like I shouldn't love you. Please."

Her voice broke at the last word as tears began to slide down her cheeks. Usagi tried to put on a brave face, but the truth was, she was also afraid, afraid that Mamoru would try to push her away like that time when a nightmare convinced him to break up with her.

"Please don't leave me alone."

All doubts became insignificant at the sound of his princess's broken plea. Wrapping his arms around Usagi's shaking form, Mamoru placed his forehead against her's and stared into her tearful blue orbs.

"I'm sorry for upsetting you Usako. But you should know I could _never_ leave you. I promised you, remember?"

"Then promise me again Mamo-chan," Usagi pleaded like a small, scared child as her hands gripped Mamoru's shirt tightly, "Promise you will never leave me and you will never try to keep things from me again. Please Mamo-chan."

"I promise Usako. I will never leave you and I will never keep secrets from you."

Mamoru watched with relief when he saw Usagi give him a small smile at his words. As he slowly leaned his face towards his princess, Usagi instinctively closed her eyes and mirrored his movement. As the two shared a gentle kiss, both vowed to themselves that they would always be together.

* * *

Elsewhere atop the Starlight tower, a single man stood staring upon the sparkling lights of night time Tokyo through the thick glass window. He paid no mind to the unconscious mass of people lying on the ground behind him nor did he paid any heed when four man phased into the room.

"My prince the arrangements are completed," the man with long silver hair announced.

"Where is she now," the man addressed as prince asked, never once taking his sight away from the lights down below.

"She is being escorted home as we speak sire," the man with a pony-tail replied.

"I see," the prince answered with envy and displeasure evident in his tone.

"We have also located the Sailor Senshis of this time," the man with wavy long brown hair informed.

"I can sense their powers are much greater here compared to the senshis we've known in our time. Not only that, but it would seem the Outer senshis have been awakened in this time," the man with short blond hair added.

"It doesn't matter," the prince replied non-nonchalantly, "We will continue as planned. Kunzite, Zoisite, Nephrite, Jadeite!"

"Yes Endymion-sama," the four man answered simultaneously.

"I will be going forward with my part. Make sure you four will not fail on your assignments," Endymion declared, turning to face his four general for the first time since their entrance.

"Rest assured my lord, we will not fail you again," the four declared fiercely.

At their prince's nod of acknowledgment, the four generals vanished, off to make good of their promise.

Alone once more, Endymion gazed around the Starlight tower as if searching for something. When his eyes landed on the elevator, the coldness clouding his eyes vanished as the memory of his time in a similar elevator with Usagi filled him. Taking out the star locket, Endymion listened to it play that soft endearing melody.

"Serenity."

Then as suddenly as the coldness had vanished, a red glow began to taint his ocean blue eyes and he closed the locket shut, abruptly stopping the music.

"We will be together again soon my love."

Turning his gaze once more upon the city below, a crazed grin appeared on his face as he held the locket against his chest.

"And once I have you beside me again Serenity, I shall create a new world that can never tear us apart and destroy the one that has caused you so much pain. They will never hurt us again Serenity. I will make sure of it."


End file.
